Who is our first actual kizashi owner?
The Kizashi yet to be fully distributed. Did anyone here manage to pick one up yet?
Not sure if I'm the actual first on the board but I'll be the first to reply. We bought an SLS model on Saturday the 19th. Originally I had intended to only go and test drive one to compare it to the other options out there, but after driving the car it pretty much sold itself. The CVT will definitely take some getting used to though since I've been driving a stick for years.
After speaking at length with the dealership, they don't expect to be recieving any more cars until mid-late January, possibly as late as February. Of their initial batch they only had 2 left - an SE FWD & a GTS FWD. The one we bought wasn't even on the lot - it was parked as a display at a local Sam's Club.
After speaking at length with the dealership, they don't expect to be recieving any more cars until mid-late January, possibly as late as February. Of their initial batch they only had 2 left - an SE FWD & a GTS FWD. The one we bought wasn't even on the lot - it was parked as a display at a local Sam's Club.
You are the winner. Did you get one with AWD? I noticed the other two were FWD.
Make sure to come back and write a review after a few weeks. I'm sure someone who owns kizashi will have a slightly different perspective than the professional reviews.
Good to have you aboard.
Make sure to come back and write a review after a few weeks. I'm sure someone who owns kizashi will have a slightly different perspective than the professional reviews.
Good to have you aboard.
Yes, I did get an AWD model, that was actually one of the things that drew me to the Kizashi - the option of part-time AWD. I live in Colorado, and while there are some periods of time where AWD is almost a requirement, most of the time its not. I really wanted a sedan (not an SUV), I really wanted AWD but I didn't want full-time AWD like everything else seems to be, and I didn't want the same old Subaru everyone else in the state seems to drive.
The Kizashi fit all three. I'll definitely do a write up on it once I've had some time to get used to the car.
The Kizashi fit all three. I'll definitely do a write up on it once I've had some time to get used to the car.
netsyd, congrats on the SLS awd purchase! So how much did it cost out the door and the Suzuki dealer sales experience? Is that silver or the bluish metallic...
I'm a current B5 Passat owner for over 9yrs and am planning replace my ride in a year or two for a Kizashi...
Glad to hear from a first Kizashi owner in these forums.
Yes, pls post a write-up and details on the options..and more pics pls.
Btw, I noticed the Kizashi Build & Price page is up and running as of last Sunday 12/20/09..now with more updated options pics..(the $230 "18 Hyper Alloy Silver rims is a looker).
http://www.suzukiauto.com/build_and_pri ... hi/?r=show
I'm a current B5 Passat owner for over 9yrs and am planning replace my ride in a year or two for a Kizashi...
Glad to hear from a first Kizashi owner in these forums.
Yes, pls post a write-up and details on the options..and more pics pls.
Btw, I noticed the Kizashi Build & Price page is up and running as of last Sunday 12/20/09..now with more updated options pics..(the $230 "18 Hyper Alloy Silver rims is a looker).
http://www.suzukiauto.com/build_and_pri ... hi/?r=show
I noticed they had the accessories page up too. The rims similar to the final concept vehicle are 299 extra which I thought was the price per wheel, but it is for all 4 so that really isn't too bad a deal.
I might even consider it.
On a side not I will be grabbing all of the accessory images and prices and posting them here once they get them all up... That way we will be able to track prices and see what they change.
I might even consider it.
On a side not I will be grabbing all of the accessory images and prices and posting them here once they get them all up... That way we will be able to track prices and see what they change.
@vwoom--
All told - I was out the door at $31K and change. Yes, that's high, but here's a rough breakdown:
Sticker was roughly $29k.
Drop it down a couple thousand because they had it at $27k outside Sam's Club. Add in Dealer Handling and other charges, Tax, Title, License and extended warranty for 7 years. Then add an extra $2k on top because its an AWD and Colorado dealers add $2k for that for some reason and you get to $31k.
So as always, no matter what you can build it for online, expect a couple thousand dollars more when you're signing on the line.
Yes, its the Ice Blue Metallic. Personally I would have liked the Gray Metallic and black leather interior... but since our Mazda6 is that color this was a good alternative. IMHO it needs some dark window tint... which it will get (soon).
In retrospect - I really could have / should have waited until February and ordered one. But, unfortunately my rock (my wife) who was supposed to control the urge to buy ended up folding like a wet paper towel... and wanted the car as much as I did
Dealer: Denver Suzuki. I had 2 salesmen and the manager of the store involved in the sale. The first guy was fairly new to the dealership which was I'm sure hard enough, team that with the fact that the cars had only just shown up a few days earlier and well he wasn't up to speed. The guy who helped him out was a veteran car salesman. He knew the car, knew the options on it, and all around knew how to get someone into a car deal. Now - don't take that as they were pushy because they honestly weren't. They were polite, friendly and one of the best experiences in a car dealership I've had. The manager came by while we were waiting for financing to do their thing and basically just talked about the car. No pressure to make sure we stayed for the deal, just sat down to bullshit. They were pulling out the showroom floor FWD GTS for a test drive, and once they were gone he informed me that the people going to drive that car had just flown in from vacation - they came straight from the airport because they wanted the car we had just bought. It was to be their 6th car they had bought there. All in all, couldn't say a bad thing about the dealership. Even the finance guy was fun to talk to, not all business and stuffy like I'm used to from finance people.
All told - I was out the door at $31K and change. Yes, that's high, but here's a rough breakdown:
Sticker was roughly $29k.
Drop it down a couple thousand because they had it at $27k outside Sam's Club. Add in Dealer Handling and other charges, Tax, Title, License and extended warranty for 7 years. Then add an extra $2k on top because its an AWD and Colorado dealers add $2k for that for some reason and you get to $31k.
So as always, no matter what you can build it for online, expect a couple thousand dollars more when you're signing on the line.
Yes, its the Ice Blue Metallic. Personally I would have liked the Gray Metallic and black leather interior... but since our Mazda6 is that color this was a good alternative. IMHO it needs some dark window tint... which it will get (soon).
In retrospect - I really could have / should have waited until February and ordered one. But, unfortunately my rock (my wife) who was supposed to control the urge to buy ended up folding like a wet paper towel... and wanted the car as much as I did
Dealer: Denver Suzuki. I had 2 salesmen and the manager of the store involved in the sale. The first guy was fairly new to the dealership which was I'm sure hard enough, team that with the fact that the cars had only just shown up a few days earlier and well he wasn't up to speed. The guy who helped him out was a veteran car salesman. He knew the car, knew the options on it, and all around knew how to get someone into a car deal. Now - don't take that as they were pushy because they honestly weren't. They were polite, friendly and one of the best experiences in a car dealership I've had. The manager came by while we were waiting for financing to do their thing and basically just talked about the car. No pressure to make sure we stayed for the deal, just sat down to bullshit. They were pulling out the showroom floor FWD GTS for a test drive, and once they were gone he informed me that the people going to drive that car had just flown in from vacation - they came straight from the airport because they wanted the car we had just bought. It was to be their 6th car they had bought there. All in all, couldn't say a bad thing about the dealership. Even the finance guy was fun to talk to, not all business and stuffy like I'm used to from finance people.
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formerreda3
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:20 am
Called 10 dealerships in New England on December 10th, left messages with a few, got a call back from Advantage Suzuki in Albany, New York on December 11th, drove the two hours to the dealership, test drove a red GTS manual and bought it on December 12th! Traded in my red A3. Drove it home that day. Paid $23,484 plus tax less my trade in.
Best attributes--handles very well for a sedan, quiet, well put together, terrific stereo,
Worst attribute--not enough sensation of speed allowing one to drive too fast
Great gas mileage with regular--30 mpg over first 600 miles driving 65% highways; 35% city streets/country roads.
I have been communicating with Mike Karesh. Many of you may already be familiar with his site, TrueDelta. He has been tracking repair records for different vehicles for some time and would like to do the same for the Kizashi. He needs 10+ people with a Kizashi to join. Go to TrueDelta, click on reliability and join. No charge of course. In fact, he is testing a Kizashi as I write this and I presume will weigh in on his feelings about the car. It is the SLS, AWD, CVT version. Six speed manual is my favoirte choice for this car. But then, I have driven nothing but standards for 44 years!
Having owned the six speed manual GTS for only two weeks, I can only give you my initial impression.
First, the car is rock solid; second, it handles beautifully; third, it is quiet; fourth, the Rockford Fosgate system is terrific; fifth, the heat comes on unbelievably quick which is no mean feat in New England; sixth, vision is great all around; seventh, power vs. gas mileage is more than adequate; eighth, plenty of room front and back; ninth, the best ideas from Audi were incorporated into the car (lane change turn signal causes the blinker to stay on for three blinks; individual heat controls for passenger and driver). Unless you get paid to test all the cars out there, it is every bit as good as the A4 (which I drove for a day when my A3 was being serviced) and my A3 which I loved but four years with any car is long enough.
It is interesting that car nuts are so certain about the differences between brands/models based on reviews they read and prejudices that have been builit up over the years and less on actually driving the car themselves. I have owned both the supercharged Corrado, the 6 cylinder Corrado, VW Passat, Audi A3 and now the Kizashi. All manual transmissions. Overall, the Kizashi is the best of the lot. We'll see how it wears.
Best attributes--handles very well for a sedan, quiet, well put together, terrific stereo,
Worst attribute--not enough sensation of speed allowing one to drive too fast
Great gas mileage with regular--30 mpg over first 600 miles driving 65% highways; 35% city streets/country roads.
I have been communicating with Mike Karesh. Many of you may already be familiar with his site, TrueDelta. He has been tracking repair records for different vehicles for some time and would like to do the same for the Kizashi. He needs 10+ people with a Kizashi to join. Go to TrueDelta, click on reliability and join. No charge of course. In fact, he is testing a Kizashi as I write this and I presume will weigh in on his feelings about the car. It is the SLS, AWD, CVT version. Six speed manual is my favoirte choice for this car. But then, I have driven nothing but standards for 44 years!
Having owned the six speed manual GTS for only two weeks, I can only give you my initial impression.
First, the car is rock solid; second, it handles beautifully; third, it is quiet; fourth, the Rockford Fosgate system is terrific; fifth, the heat comes on unbelievably quick which is no mean feat in New England; sixth, vision is great all around; seventh, power vs. gas mileage is more than adequate; eighth, plenty of room front and back; ninth, the best ideas from Audi were incorporated into the car (lane change turn signal causes the blinker to stay on for three blinks; individual heat controls for passenger and driver). Unless you get paid to test all the cars out there, it is every bit as good as the A4 (which I drove for a day when my A3 was being serviced) and my A3 which I loved but four years with any car is long enough.
It is interesting that car nuts are so certain about the differences between brands/models based on reviews they read and prejudices that have been builit up over the years and less on actually driving the car themselves. I have owned both the supercharged Corrado, the 6 cylinder Corrado, VW Passat, Audi A3 and now the Kizashi. All manual transmissions. Overall, the Kizashi is the best of the lot. We'll see how it wears.
Congrats formerreda3 on your purchase! It's good to hear another happy Kizashi owner here. I'm building my enthusiasm to get a Kizashi, once I trade in my B5.
Funny, seems that us VW folks think the same wavelength and tend to gravitate to a Suzuki for a Japanese ride...same mindset. Suzuki then is really pre-destined to be part of VWAG and vise versa.
There is some talk though in the interwebs that VW might close niche seller Suzuki in the USDM. I just hope the rumors are not true and would let Suzuki continue to sell cars in the US...most notably the upcoming next-gen Swift, or future Suzuki/VW derived models.
Funny, seems that us VW folks think the same wavelength and tend to gravitate to a Suzuki for a Japanese ride...same mindset. Suzuki then is really pre-destined to be part of VWAG and vise versa.
There is some talk though in the interwebs that VW might close niche seller Suzuki in the USDM. I just hope the rumors are not true and would let Suzuki continue to sell cars in the US...most notably the upcoming next-gen Swift, or future Suzuki/VW derived models.
Last edited by vwoom on Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I hadn't seen anything about VW trying to pull suzuki from the US. Would you mind posting the link? VWs are a bit expensive for my taste. I thought they only had like 20% share? If Suzuki pulls out it will more likely be that their sales numbers are just too low.